Regarded as Ireland’s premier sports campus, boasting some of the top facilities in Europe, the University of Limerick has ‘raised the bar’ with a new suite of sports scholarships. The UL Sports Scholarships will offer elite athletes the support they need in pursuing and excelling in their sport while also undertaking academic study at the University of Limerick.

As CTO and Chief Development Officer for a multinational software company with annual revenues in excess of US$6 Billion annually, Ray O’Farrell BEng 1986 & MEng 1990 happily recalls his time as a student at UL and gives us an insight into his challenging role at VMware Inc., his life in California and his thoughts on the future of the ICT sector...

Over 450 guidance counsellors from second and third level schools and colleges across Ireland gathered recently at the University of Limerick for the Annual Conference of the Institute of Guidance Counsellors (IGC), on what was the 40th Anniversary of the foundation of the Institute.

A Dublin native, Paul is VP of Product at Intercom, where he oversees the Product, Design and Research teams. Previously, Paul worked as Global Head of Brand Design at Facebook (running design projects with partners like Nike, Coca Cola, and Starbucks) and as a Product Manager. He was one of Facebook’s foremost speakers on the future of marketing and social design. He also worked in the UX team at Google (working on Google+, Gmail, YouTube and Mobile) and was an Industrial Designer at Dyson. Paul published his first book, Grouped, in 2011.

A recent study by academics at the Kemmy Business School has found that ‘If and When’ employees are vulnerable because they may not be defined as employees in employment law and therefore may not have many employment rights.

The Department of Politics and Public Administration recently welcomed His Excellency Dr Dominick Chilcott for a public discussion event entitled “The UK, Ireland, and the EU: Reform, Renegotiation, and Referendum”. The event was organised in association with the British Embassy and Communicating Europe.

Over 230 students from schools in Clare, Limerick, and North Tipperary were recently presented with Certificates of Achievement at the Business Studies Awards Ceremony hosted by UL’s Kemmy Business School and the Business Studies Teachers Association of Ireland (BSTAI). The award recognises those who have achieved an A Grade in Higher Level Business Studies at Junior Certificate level in 2015.

Pictured is the team from the Synthesis and Solid State Pharmaceutical Centre (SSPC) at UL which was recently announced as Pharma Research Centre of the Year and Research & Development Achievement Award winner, at the Pharma Industry Awards. The Awards acknowledge and celebrate the most original and innovative individuals, research centres and companies in the Irish Pharma sector. SSPC is a Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) and industry funded research centre which focuses on research innovations and developments for next generation medicine manufacture.

David Maher from Milford National School is put through his paces as ‘lead surgeon’ on a recent operation on Bart Simpson with assistance from Maaz Mirza Graduate Entry Medical School (GEMS) at this year’s GEMS Teddy Bear Hospital at UL.

Responsible education at the Kemmy Business School has been recognised by the United Nations by the recent inclusion of the School on a new list of PRME Champions published by the UN in February. The KBS is the only Irish School to be included on this prestigious list.

The 2016 election provided voters with an unprecedented level of choice, with several new political parties and over 150 Independent candidates. To help voters with their decision, members of UL's Democratic Performance research group set up the online voting advice application www.WhichCandidate.ie. Run in partnership with The Irish Times and local media outlets, the site was visited by over 100,000 voters over the course of the election campaign.

The University of Limerick Alumni Association’s highest honour was bestowed on three of the University’s outstanding graduates at the 10th Annual UL Alumni Awards Gala Dinner held in Dromoland Castle. The 2015 honourees were acclaimed Irish artist Ms Alice Maher (BA in European Studies ’78); Entrepreneur, Founder and CEO of BD-GenCell; Dr Kieran Curran (BEng in Mechanical Engineering’02 & PhD ‘05), and award-winning former Cork Camogie Captain Ms Anna Geary (Bachelor in Business Studies ’09). The awards are sponsored by Bank of Ireland.

Lero, the Irish Software Research Centre, based at UL has received €46.4 million investment over six years for expansion. The development means that 90 PhD and 46 postdoctoral research positions will be created over the next six years, with recruitment commencing immediately.

Researchers at the University of Limerick, in collaboration with research & development staff at Stryker, have developed the world’s first FDA cleared injectable Hydroxyapatite forming bone repair material used in neurosurgical procedures.

Dr Terry McGrail, Director of the Irish Centre for Composites Research (IComp) hosted at MSSI, was the only third-level representative to accompany President Michael D. Higgins on a visit to the Centre for Enterprise and Innovation in the Automobile Industry (CEiiA) in the Portuguese city of Oporto.

Pictured at the Synthesis and Solid State Pharmaceutical Centre’s (SSPC) National Crystal Growing Competition awards at UL were, Coláiste Bhaile Chláir Galway students, Rachel Scarry, winner for the most innovative crystal; first place prize winner, Aoife Ryan and second runner-up prize winner Billy Clarke. The competition was open to primary and post-primary schools in Ireland and students were challenged to grow a single crystal from a variety of compounds such as: Salt (Sodium Chloride), Alum, Sugar, or Copper Sulphate.

The UL research community was joined by industry, corporate partners and supporters for the recent launch of the UL Research Strategy, Excellence and Impact 2020 by then Minister for Skills, Research and Innovation, Damien English TD.